Woof Nanny

Crafting, Sewing, and Contemplation...

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Handheld Fans

I attend a school that has an Ornamental Horticulture program--students can acheive certificates or two-year degrees in Landscape Design, Sustainable Design, Irrigation, Floral Design, Nursery Management, etc.Every April, the Water Conservation Garden on campus hosts a garden festival.Classes organize booths to explain their subject matter, vendors sell trinkets, and the school nursery sells its plants material.

Teachers often bribe us with extra credit if we show to work the booth, or provide handout materials.To ensure I receive an 'A' in the class, I decided to make handheld fans (though it wasn't as hot today as it was a few days ago).

I spent hours and hours looking up the information, typing up the sheets, reducing and enlarging and copying onto card stock.I was at Kinkos until past 2am last night, and still needed to get up early this morning and assemble the fans.Butterfly fan frontI had wanted to use paste, thinking regular glue would buckle the paper, but there was no time to buy anything.Double stick tape, rubber cement, or glue sticks don't hold long enough, though they certainly would have been easier.

I ended up using what I had on hand, which was school glue, spread on thinly with a stick, then added a touch of glitter.Hummingbird and Bees fan frontsAfter all the hours, the ideas, the assembly, the expense...my teacher gave me quite a lackluster response. I had cleared both the idea and the content with her first, yet when she saw the fans she asked, "what are they?". Okaaaay.....

She said it was too windy and too cold to hand them out, and she'd keep them for next year.She barely even glanced at the content.I guess you can say she wasn't a fan of my fans.Sigh.What a let down.

I made 90 total. Thirty each of three styles.Only one color pic because the copying is so much more expensive.I got all the images on Flickr, in the group that shares collage images for art use.

I had wanted to cut the paper into ovals, but opted for a half circle and rectangles to save time. I think they're still cute.I used jumbo-sized popsicle sticks for the handles (though I've read that paint-stir sticks are a good option too).

The backs listed plants, specifically California natives, that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, or bees. I also listed some suggestions, such as not to use chemical insecticides, to provide shelter, etc

Quickly assembled, so they're simple (meaning not quite up to my usual perfectionist standards), but a cute idea I think.It would be fun to make embellished fans for a party, and add sparkly ribbon ties.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sunset on the beach

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Cute Eye Pillow Kit

The Scarlet Fig is giving away a lavender eye pillow kit (deadline, April 30)Leave a comment on her blog post, and you may be the lucky winner.These kits are so cute--it includes her exclusive couch-design fabric, and two teaspoons of lavender.You add rice or buckwheat hulls, and stitch it up into a comforting pillow to place over your eyes to relax, reduce a headache, or induce sleep.You can also buy the DIY Kits in her Etsy Shop

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Holy Grail - Killer Bunny

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Holiday humor

Geez, poor neglected blog.I've been spending more time on Facebook lately.

I had to post this bizarre Passover toy: the Bag of Plagues.According to judaism.com, "The Passover Bag of Plagues is an interactive collection of toys to help families portray dramatic events in the Passover story in a spirit of fun and discovery. It will engage the youngest Seder participants, capturing their imaginations while encouraging them to take the first step through the desert and feel the sand between their toes.Plagues Bag includes items representative of each of the ten plagues."

But, um, plagues as toys?The set includes a plastic locust, a sticky hand with "boils", and fake blood.Boy, don't you want to be at that party? Just sayin'.Please know I am not trying to degrade religion here, only commenting on this odd form of teaching the stories.Or do you think kids would like this?

Or, if you don't like the bag of toys, you can choose the Plagues Bowling Set.There is also a plagues masks set, or plagues finger puppets.Am I the only one finding this strange?

To be fair, I looked for novelty Easter toys.I found Resurrection eggs, but these actually seem fun to me.The resurrection eggs were the only novelty Easter toy I could find, but of course there are always the prank sites.

I found some items that are fun without being (in my opinion anyway) sacrilegiousJesus Bandages(how cool would these be as basket fillers or Christmas stocking stuffers?!)

About Me

I'm a pet sitter, hence the name Woof Nanny (my primary blog).
I don't know how to add a link to 'older posts', but my archives are listed by month in the sidebar, so I hope you investigate.
Please feel free to post comments here, or send me an email at barbian7@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading my blog!